Events

Pop-up exhibition - Photography from the frontline – Bern, Switzerland, August 17 to 19, 2026

In this pop-up exhibition, the photographers and active Ukrainian soldiers Serhii Melnychenko and Viktor Holikov convey their impressions from the frontline of Russia's war against Ukraine.

Holikov’s project "Passenger seat" - in which he captures glimpses of a scarred homeland from the passenger seat of a car - demonstrates his decision to continue seeking aesthetic beauty and personal expression amidst the daily reality of war. Doing art helps him combat a sense of powerlessness.

Melnychenko’s project "Frontline rolls" employs a different approach; he sends disposable cameras to friends on the front line and collects artifacts and correspondence, thereby creating an intense portrait of his comrades' reality.

As both artists are currently on active military duty, organizing this pop-up exhibition has been - and remains - challenging.

The photographers will, however, be present in person for the vernissage and finissage (and 7-8 pm on Aug. 18) to discuss their work. Take the chance to meet them during these three days.

📆 Aug. 17-19, 2026

📍Yehudi Menhuin Forum, Bern, Switzerland

⏱️ Opening hours 3-8 pm

🥂 Vernissage Aug. 17, 6 pm (music performance at 7 pm)

🥂 Finissage Aug. 19, 7 pm

Viktor Holikov (born 1985 in Lutsk, Ukraine) and Serhii Melnychenko (born 1991 in Mykolaiv, Ukraine) are friends, photographers - and today soldiers. Their lives and artistic work have been engulfed by the war. The pop-up in Bern brings visibility to the consequences of Russia’s war in Ukraine. Any proceeds from the sale of artworks go directly to the artists.

The exhibition is co-organized by the Ukraine Culture Network and supported by Yehudi Menuhin Forum.

Protecting Cultural Heritage  –  Learning from Ukraine - Results Document now available

July 2026

The results document of the one-day symposium “Protecting Cultural Heritage in Times of War – Learning from Ukraine” is now available under this link.

The symposium took place on April 29, 2026 at Bernisches Historisches Museum, Bern, Switzerland.

Musical Bridges for Peace and Solidarity  -  concert tour in Switzerland from July 9 to 12, 2026

Young singers and string players from Ukraine, Finland, Sweden and Switzerland came together to perform a program of Nordic and Ukrainian music. The event was organized by the Ukraine Culture Network.

Concert vision

The musicians came together for a week or rehearsals and performances. The best way to live the values of respect and tolerance is to play and sing together. The concert tour and the preparatory work allowed the young participating musicians to perform music and meet in an atmosphere of tolerance and understanding. Music carries a message of peace. It is hoped that the participants could form lasting friendships and networks.

Concert tour

Thursday, July 9, 18 hours: concert in Grenchen, St. Eusebius

Friday, July 10, 19hours: concert in Lucerne, Maihof

Saturday, July 11, 17 hours: concert in Bern, at Yehudi Menuhin Forum Bern (Helvetiaplatz 6, 3005 Bern). 

Sunday, July 12, 17 hours: concert in Vevey, St. Martin

Swiss choir ’Kessibrunnholz’ and their Ukrainian conductor Tatiana Yakovchuk staged a concert at the 2026 Ukrainian World Congress (UWC) Summit - with great effect. UWC delegates forcefully joined the choir. The Yehudi Menuhin Forum in Bern, Switzerland, the Summit's location, was pervaded with joint singing. What a feeling of unity!

The choir event was organized by Ukraine Culture Network, with special thanks to Werner Schmitt, President.

The three day Global Ukrainian Summit 2026 - organized by the Ukrainian World Congress - Свiтовий Конґрес Українців in cooperation with the Ukrainian Society of Switzerland - brought together Ukrainian and international leaders, government officials, business representatives, civil society actors, diplomats and community leaders in Bern, Switzerland. The main goal of the summit was unified and strengthened support for Ukraine. The Summit was attended by 300 participants from 50 countries.

The Ukraine Culture Network builds cultural bridges between Western countries and Ukraine.

Musical Bridges for Peace and Solidarity  -  call for participation now CLOSED

Switzerland, July 2026

The Ukraine Culture Network organizes an international music project in Switzerland from Monday, July 6 to Monday, July 13, 2026. Young singers and string players from Ukraine, Finland, Sweden and Switzerland were eligible for participation.

The call for participation has been CLOSED on May 30, 2026.

Protecting Cultural Heritage  –  Learning from Ukraine

April 29, 2026

Bernisches Historisches Museum, Bern, Switzerland

At the one-day symposium “Protecting Cultural Heritage in Times of War – Learning from Ukraine”, experts discussed the current state of cultural heritage protection in Ukraine and Switzerland with a special focus on wartime planning. Experts from Ukraine reported on the daunting challenges that have been imposed on their country by Russia’s brutal war of aggression, but also on innovative forms of dealing with the situation.

Tetyana Pylypchuk, Director of the Kharkiv Literary Museum, spoke of destruction but also about a novel exhibition which compares the 1920s – the ‘executed renaissance’ – with the present situation. Dariia Diakova, Director of the Museum for Change (MFC) and deputy Director of the Odesa National Fine Arts Museum informed about MFC’s practical support for many other museums, e.g. with respect to evacuating collections and stabilizing buildings. MFC’s work is supported by the ALIPH Foundation, represented at the symposium by Alexandra Fiebich, who is also acting Director of the Ukraine Cultural Heritage Fund. Yurii Prepodobnyi, Co-founder of company Skeiron, informed the audience that his company, shortly after the beginning of the full-skale invasion, switched to scanning historic buildings in Ukraine, thus testifying to Ukraine’s vibrant civil society.

On March 1st, 2026, a major musical work was performed in Fribourg, Switzerland. The 'Festkantate zur Murtenschlacht' by Lothar Kempter is a monumental work for male choir and orchestra, commemorating the 1476 battle between Charles the Bold of Burgundy and a Swiss Confederate army at Murten / Morat. In addition to this impressive work, 'Maria's City' by Ukrainian composer Zoltan Almashi war performed. The work commemorates Mariupol, the port city largely destroyed by the Russian army. 

The Swiss male choir was accompanied by members of the Youth Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine which traveled all the way from Ukraine for the performance. 

Please find the program here.

📌 Forum Fribourg, Route du Lac 12, Granges-Paccot, FRIBOURG, Switzerland 

📅 Sunday March 1, 2026

The event was made possible by the Ukraine Culture Network, with special thanks to Werner Schmitt, President of the Board.

On Friday, February 13, 2026, violinist Ming-Chung Teng (Taiwan), Odesa International Prize Winner, and Ukrainian pianist Nikolay Pushkarev gave a concert at Yehudi Menuhin Forum in Bern. The audience was stunned by the mastery and energy of the two young musicians. Here is a short video impression of the concert. 

The program included works by Myroslav Skoryk, Edvard Grieg, Erich Wolfgang Korngold, Eric Chausson and Henryk Wieniawski. More information can be found in the concert flyer. 

Myroslav Skoryk (1938 - 2020) is one of the most loved and prolific composers of his generation. His composition ‘Melodiya’ has been described as the spiritual hymn of Ukraine. 

This event was supported by the Ukraine Culture Network, with special thanks to Werner Schmitt, President of the Board.

Photo Exhibition on the War against Ukrainian Libraries
Kornhaus Bibliotheken Bern (Kornhaus libraries) and the Ukraine Culture Network jointly organized a photo exhibition of the ongoing war against Ukrainian libraries.

This war is part of the war the Russian Federation wages against Ukrainian culture and identity.

The exhibition was on display at the main building of Kornhausbibliotheken at Kornhausplatz 18 in Bern until January 31, 2026. 

Swiss National TV SRF produced a TV report on the exhibition.

The full-length video of the World Premiere of the Requiem by Ukrainian composer Yevhen Stankovych has just been released. You can find it on the Ukraine Culture Network's YouTube Channel.

The Requiem had its world premiere in Kyiv, at the National Philharmonic of Ukraine, on November 2, 2025. The music and the Requiem's narrative - suffering, death, and the perspective of a better world - deeply touched the audience. Many have lost family members and friends in the ongoing war. The air alarms over Kyiv stayed silent during the premiere - to pick up just as it was over.

The War against Ukrainian Libraries and Ukrainian Literature

The Ukraine Culture Network UCN and Kornhaus Bibliotheken Bern (Kornhaus libraries, KOB) jointly organized a series of events to raise awareness of the ongoing war against Ukrainian libraries and Ukrainian literature. This war is part of the war the Russian Federation wages against Ukrainian culture and identity.

The events took place at the main building of Kornhausbibliotheken at Kornhausplatz 18 in Bern on December 2nd and 3rd, 2025. 

The Sophia Chamber Choir from Kyiv performed at the Yehudi Menuhin Forum in Bern on December 12 at 19.30.

The program was devoted to the upcoming Christmas time and included works from Johann Sebastian Bach, Francis Poulenc, Victor Kolomits, Iaroslav Karpiv, Oleksandr Rodin and others. The audience was presented with an impressive blend of voices and musical works from both Ukraine and Western Europe. Several of the arragements had been specifically created for the Sophia Chamber Choir.

The concert concluded with the traditional Ukrainian New Year's song 'Shchedryk'. Shchedryk was arranged by Ukrainian composer Mykola Leontovych, who was i.a. known for his arrangements of Ukrainian folk music. He was murdered in 1921 by a Soviet security agent, becoming one of the many victims of the Soviet state's suppression of Ukrainian culture. Shchedryk is at the basis of the well-known Carol of the Bells, which can be frequently heard around Christmas time.

Please find the full program under this link.

The Sophia Chamber Choir could also be heard at their Basel concert and Stockholm concert on December 16 and 17.

The concert was organized by the Ukraine Culture Network UCN, with special thanks to Werner Schmitt and Maria Söderberg, UCN Board Members.